NEW CNA I'M NERVOUS!

blue cna · May 11, 2010

if they cant stand well enough for you to tranfer them then chances are they use a mechanical lift anyways.

BeJuled · May 11, 2010

I'm in the same boat as you!!! I am starting my first CNA job next week! well orientation is next week and i'm super nervous too!!

I have also been worried about how I am going to know what patient needs what and what their abilities are... I'm hoping I'll get the hang of it quick because I hear that the other CNAs can be grouchy towards the newbies!! I just hope I find a nice one that will show me the ropes!!

good luck! one thing we can think of to make us not as nervous is that everyone has been at the point we are at with the same questions!!

blue cna · May 11, 2010

the cnas that you train with will tell you everything you need to know.

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · May 11, 2010

Ask another CNA to help you make a cheat sheet if you're not provided with them already. Not knowing the residents sucks and even with a sheet you'll still be asking other CNAs constant questions- "Does this guy take a shower or tub bath? Is this lady supposed to walk? Do we need to get her vitals first? Who is on thickened liquids again?" but a cheat sheet helps. It does take time to get used to the job and yes, a lot of CNAs are either crabby or they kind of ignore you at first because they're shy. Try to be fast and have common sense and it'll go more smoothly for you. Like, it shouldn't take 30 minutes to do a shower. New CNAs are always slower than the others but hogging the shower for a half hour is a good way to annoy people, even if it doesn't even affect them!!!! They'll still be like, "Uggh she's been in there FOREVER! So no puttering around. Once you know the residents and the routine by heart and you know how to manage your time, you'll be able to mess around. Like today I had everyone on my assignment taken care of, helped my coworkers out, and still had time for an extra bath and to give out extra snacks and do a whole bunch of people's nails. During my first month there's no WAY I was doing extra baths or nail care without neglecting somebody else in order to do it. It was all I could do just to get my people in bed (I started off on 3-11). As far as asking for extra help with lifting- better safe than sorry. As long as you have everything prepared before you ask, so that the other CNA can get in and out as fast as possible, they shouldn't give you guff about it.

pkuper · May 13, 2010

You will be fine. I was extremely nervous when I first became a CNA a year ago. When I first started, I would see some of the girls who had worked as a CNA for years just picked residents up like it was of no consequence and when I tried to do it also, I couldn't. haha. You build up the muscle overtime, and now, I am able to do the same thing. When I first started, I couldn't hardly even slide a resident up to the head of the bed by myself.

And I know it was already mentioned, but when you first start out you tend to be slow, however, after you get to know the residents, get your own routine going, and learn some short-cuts (e.g. getting another resident's care done while the other is getting ready for a shower) you will become much quicker and you will be more efficient.

When I first started, I bugged all the other CNA's to death asking questions. Still to this day, I ask questions. At my facility we are hired in on a specific wing and only work another wing when that wing is short and ours is over staffed, unless you work overtime. So, even after a year, I haven't been every resident's CNA (our census is 160 and we have 188 beds), and I ask questions. You learn more by asking questions and although the other CNAs might get frustrated, they typically are very understandable of new aides and are willing to help you out.